Spectacle case



p 1956 R. F. E. STEGEMAN SPECTACLE CASE Filed April 19, 1954 III II Pic-7.4

INVENTOR. RIPE. STEGEMAN $4 awidq ATTORNEY United States Patent F SPECTACLE CASE Application April 19, 1954, Serial No. 423,955

Claims. (Cl. 206-5) This invention relates to spectacle cases and more particularly it has reference to a spectacle case of the type having an open end for the insertion of a spectacle.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide an improved spectacle case of the type described having means for retaining the spectacle in the case without the use of flaps or closure devices.

Other objects of this invention are to provide an improved spectacle case of the type described which will be relatively simple in structure, eificient in operation, and capable of being manufactured at a relatively low cost.

These and other objects and advantages reside in certain novel features of construction, arrangement, and combination of parts as will hereinafter be more fully described and pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a spectacle case embodying my invention, with parts shown broken away.

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of the open end of the case.

Fig. 3 is a side view of a modified form of case embodying my invention, with parts shown broken away.

Fig. 4 is an elevational view of an end thereof.

A preferred embodiment of my invention is disclosed in the drawings wherein indicates a spectacle case having a substantially flat, tubular body portion which may be formed by reversely folding a piece of flexible sheet material such as leather, plastic or the like. The overlapping portions of the sheet material are secured together along their end and bottom edges by any suitable means such as stitching 11. This provides a substantially flat, tubular body member having front and rear walls 12 and 13, respectively, with one end closed and the other end open as at 16.

The upper portions of the walls 12 and 13, adjacent the open end 16 of the body, are partially cut away as shown at 14. The cut away portion of the walls 12 and 13 is partially filled in by a piece of elastic sheet material 15 which is reversely folded on itself and has its longitudinal and inner end edges secured to the adjacent portions of the walls 12 and 13 in any suitable manner such as stitching 17. The elastic sheet material 15 may, for example, be made of woven fabric with rubber threads combined.

The bottom longitudinal edges of the walls 12 and 13 are secured together along their adjacent edges so that the walls 12 and 13 extend upwardly in diverging relation, thereby making the bottom edge portion of the body member substantially V-shaped in vertical section. This V-shaped longitudinally extending bottom edge portion Patented Sept. 11, 1956 'ice body member is preferably formed so that the vertical div mension of the case gradually increases in size from the open end 16 toward the closed end. Since the bottom edge portion of the spectacle case is relatively non-yielding in a verticaldirection, a spectacle may be readily inserted or removed from the case by sliding it along the non yielding bottom edge and forcing it into or out of yielding engagement with the elastic material 15. It will be apparent, therefore, that the spectacle will be retained in the case by the yielding engagement of the elastic member 15 so that it will not accidentally fall out of the case in handling. Since the elastic material 15 is capable of being stretched a substantial amount in a vertical direction, spectacles of various vertical dimensions may be accommodated in the case. p

In the modification shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the case 20 is formed by uniting two elongated pieces of sheet material 21 and 22, such as by stitching 23, along their lower bottom edges. The piece of elastic material 24 is reversely folded on itself and the adjacent longitudinal edges are secured, respectively, to the upper edges of the walls 21 and 22 as by stitching 25. This structure provides a substantially fiat, tubular body member having both ends 25 open for the insertion or removal of a spectacle. The walls 21 and 22 may be formed of any flexible sheet material, such as leather or plastic, or they may be formed of provides a track on which the bottom part of a spectacle a'rela-tively rigid material joined along their bottom edges so as to provide a track which is substantially V-shaped in vertical section. The bottom edges of the Walls 21 and 22 are preferably united along a slightly arcuate line as shown in Fig. 3 so that a spectacle may be inserted at either of the open ends of the case by sliding the spectacle along the track formed by the V-shaped bottom portion. When this is done, the elastic material 24 stretches in a substantially vertical direction so that the elastic material yieldably holds the spectacle against the relatively nonyielding bottom track portion.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that I am able to attain the objects of my invention and provide a spectacle case of the open end type which will be relatively simple in structure and capable of being manufactured at a relatively low cost. The pieces of elastic material 15 and 24 will, in both forms of the invention, serve to yieldingly and releasably hold the spectacle in the case. The elastic sheet material 15 and 24 may be made of two or more pieces instead of a single piece, as shown on the drawings. This construction, therefore, eliminates the necessity of providing closure flaps or other means for insuring that a spectacle will not accidentally fall out of the case. The various component parts of the case may be readily united by stitching, heat-sealing, cementing, or any other well-known method for uniting parts. Various modifications may obviously be made without departing from the spirit of my invention as pointed out in the appended claims.

I claim:

I. A spectacle case comprising a pair of front and rear walls joined along their top and bottom edges to provide a substantially flat, tubular body having an open end for the insertion of a spectacle, said walls being partially cutaway adjacent said open end, and elastic sheet material secured to said walls at the cut-away portions to form a part of the open end of the case whereby a spectacle having a vertical dimension greater than that of the open end may be inserted in the case by stretching the elastic material so that the spectacle will thereby be retained in the case by yielding engagement of the elastic material.

2. A spectacle case comprising a substantially flat, tubular body having an open end into which a spectacle may be inserted, said body having a longitudinally extending bottom edge portion which is substantially V-shaped in vertical section and provides a track which is relatively a 3 non=yieldingin avertical dii'ection, and a reversely folded pieeeofelastic" sheet material having its adjacent 1ongi= tudinal edges attached to thes-respective sides of said V- shaped bottom edge portion, whereby a foldedlspectac le having'a" vertical dimension 'greater than that ,offtlfe'open end" of the 6386 11121) be" inserted into' the open: end by stretching" the elasticmaterial and sliding the spectacle along the V-'shapedbottorn edge portion ,so that gtheelastic material will yildingly engage the spectacle andurge it against said bottomedge portion and thereby hold" the spectacle inthecase:

3} Afspectacle case comprisingtr-substantially fiat, tubular-shapedbody having anopen-end' -into whic'ha spectacle" may be: inserted, said body having a longitudinally ex tendihg'bottom' edge portion whicli ijs' v 'shaped in vertical. section andfis formed offfiexihle'sheet'material, and'fa pieceoEelastic-sheet material which is-reversely folded and has its adjacent longitndina-l= edges' connected; respectively; to the two sides of the V-shaped bottom edge portion to forrrra-portion of the caseadjacencthe openend thereof so tliat a spectacle having a greater'vertical dimension tli'an the'open' end- 0f the casemay be "inserted inthe'open endthereofby stretching" the; elastic material so that it yieldingly engages the-spectacle and holds the latter against said hot-tom edge portion to retain it-in the ca-se.

4. A spectaclc case comprising-asubstantially fiat, tubular biodyformed ofsheet material and having front and rear sidewalls which are connected along the portions at the t op, bottom and one end thereof to provide'a-casehaving' an'open end' into whicha spectacle maybe inserted, the upper-portions of the front andrear Wall's adjacent said{ open endbeing formed of elastic sheet material whereby aspectaclehavingfla;- vertical -dimensiongreater than that" of said open end may be inserted in the case by stretching the elastic material and sliding the spectacle inwardly along the relatively non-yielding bottom of the case, the elastic material resiliently engaging a part of the spectacle for retaining the latter in the case;

5. A spectacle case comprising a substantially flat, tubular body formed ofsheet'material and having front andreanside wallgwhich. are joinedralong the top hot-t case b'y stretching;the;elasticmaterialatthe open'ien'd'and sliding-thc=speetacle inwardly so' that the elastic material WiIPyieldingl-yengageapart of "the-spectacle" to hold it in the case:

References-Cited in the filc -of-'this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,686,6671 .Kaskey Oct. 9, 192a. 2,107,216 Rogcrs-; .K. Feb.. 1,v 1938 2,585,214 Be1mont-. .Feb.- 12,1952, 

